Worker commits suicide after iPhone prototype goes missing - reports

A 25-year-old man reportedly committed suicide after an iPhone prototype he was responsible for went missing, leading to alleged "unbearable interrogation techniques" in the ensuing investigation, according to a Chinese publication.

As first reported by ND Daily, the man, Sun Danyong, reportedly had his property seized and was held in solitary confinement after one of 16 prototype iPhones he was responsible for went missing. The man jumped from a 12-story building last week.

As translated by Shanghaiist, the man told his friends before his death that the security guards with Foxconn, the iPhone manufacturing company, had laid hands on him. Chinese media reported that the missing device was a new "4G" iPhone.

In the wake of the incident, officials from Foxconn issued a statement that included an apology. According to Shanghaiist, the section chief of the Central Security division "may have used 'inappropriate interrogation methods' such as searching Sun's house, holding Sun in solitary confinement and possibly beatings." In addition, a Foxconn spokesperson reportedly said the incident is an example of the company's "internal management deficiencies."

Though the section chief has been suspended without pay, security officers who worked with him said it was unlikely that Sun was beaten.

Some, such as DigitalBeat, have taken to citing the incident as an example of the impact of Apple's secretive nature. They conclude that there is great pressure on Foxconn to keep Apple's secrets in order to retain their manufacturing contract.

"(Apple) uses the element of surprise to help build up excitement for its flashy product launches, helping to drive sales and its stock price higher," Eric Eldon writes. "In order to make that happen, Apple exerts immense pressure on its business partners help it maintain secrecy. The missing phone, some sort of new iPhone, has so far been nothing more than speculation among gadget sites."

It's another story of trouble from China for Apple. Just last week, the company's foreign factories came under fire, as a new investigation found that 45 of the 83 factories that built iPhones and iPods in 2008 weren't paying valid overtime rates, and 23 weren't even paying some of their workers China's minimum wage.

Tuesday afternoon, Apple issued a response on the matter to CNet.

"We are saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death," Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said. "We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect."

Some, such as DigitalBeat, have taken to citing the incident as an example of the impact of Apple's secretive nature. They conclude that there is great pressure on Foxconn to keep Apple's secrets in order to retain their manufacturing contract.[/c]

This a supremely tragic incident, if true.

But DigitalBeat's swipe at Apple's 'secretive nature' is uncalled-for. Any company that seeks to protect its IP, its R&D, its new product plans, etc is compelled to put pressure on suppliers to keep a secret. Otherwise, they will destroy value in the long haul, and would get sued.

The larger issue could be whether the relentless pursuit of electronics assembly in places like China for cost reasons increasingly militates against other considerations such as protecting corporate secrets, and has run its course.

The real story here isn't Apple secrecy, or the guy jumping off a building -- it's capitalism, Chinese style. None dare call it fascism.

Seriously, people don't seem to understand that capitalism on communism is like lipstick on a pig.

Maybe if we can free up the death grip of some of the unions in the US we can move some of these jobs back home.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for workers having some sort of representation to make sure they don't get screwed by corporations, but some of the demands of these union managers are just to line their own pockets & don't get anything for the worker.

I guess Al Gore got his old colleague Dick Cheney to question the guy...

We can joke about this in the abstract, but it doesn't reflect well on Apple when it's Chinese companies abuse their workers. Apple can't really control these companies, but they can take business away from them. A big problem is that in Chinese society, individuals basically have no rights, workers have no rights and no respect. You can't change that just by passing laws.